This would have possibly been a very nice and meaningful gesture if it had been something quietly and privately done, a touching meeting between strangers shared by them and held as a memory by those involved.

By producing it as a video, it turns into something gharish and self-serving, a bit of condescension in which people who otherwise cannot afford this sort of behavior select another person at random to serve as the foil by which they can seem like rich benefactors.

This would have been a much better story to read about than to have actually witnessed, in other words. Remember: not everything is better on video.

Pocket Ninja:This would have possibly been a very nice and meaningful gesture if it had been something quietly and privately done, a touching meeting between strangers shared by them and held as a memory by those involved.

By producing it as a video, it turns into something gharish and self-serving, a bit of condescension in which people who otherwise cannot afford this sort of behavior select another person at random to serve as the foil by which they can seem like rich benefactors.

This would have been a much better story to read about than to have actually witnessed, in other words. Remember: not everything is better on video.

Except that they've already gotten enough in donations to do it again according to the last note on the page. So putting it on video seems to have been a good choice for continuing to honor their dead family member's last wish.

It seems like it's poor taste however I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. They are taking donations and I'm sure whomever has contributed would like some benefit of a picture of something. And they're doing it in memory of someone that obviously died too young, it's not like it's a film student exercise or something. In this case I'll go with "It's the thought that counts".

kenny's mom:Well-intentioned giveaway, and well-intentioned video, but I agree that it should have been a "private memory of those involved" thing. I know that newscasters seem to feel that "if there's no video, it's not news," but I wish the $500 giveaway folks would have just left the money on the tip plate and walked away, and not announced it to the world...

I think that part of the point is to gather more donations for future giveaways...

Interestingly, I'd be OK with that if it were "an f***ing pizza", because then I could mentally pronounce it as "an effing pizza". But as written, I have no choice but to hear it as the glaringly wrong "an f'king pizza".

Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service. The United States Secret Service web address is www.secretservice.gov."

Emphasis mine.

Writing on a bill alone is not illegal. If it was, they would have shut down that whole Where's George website a long time ago for encouraging it. It gets illegal when you are defacing it to the degree where it's not fit for circulation as currency.

KangTheMad:Pocket Ninja: This would have possibly been a very nice and meaningful gesture if it had been something quietly and privately done, a touching meeting between strangers shared by them and held as a memory by those involved.

By producing it as a video, it turns into something gharish and self-serving, a bit of condescension in which people who otherwise cannot afford this sort of behavior select another person at random to serve as the foil by which they can seem like rich benefactors.

This would have been a much better story to read about than to have actually witnessed, in other words. Remember: not everything is better on video.

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Really, KangTheMad? Please explain how his post is anything close to butthurt? If you were trying to be funny you failed miserably.

Pocket Ninja:This would have been a much better story to read about than to have actually witnessed, in other words. Remember: not everything is better on video.

I don't know. I admit, a video in such circumstances could be good if it didn't focus on the people doing the giving, and instead on the reaction of the pizza guy. One of those nice circumstances where humor can come from something *good* happening to a person.